Category: Politics

Asylum-seekers welcome in
Bay Area and needed in US

Re: “Dump detained immigrants in sanctuary cities? Bay Area mayors react” (Eastbaytimes.com, April 12):

Enough! Let’s take the sorry fool up on his threat. Let’s accept the immigrants to our cities in the Bay Area in response to President Trump’s pitiful, hateful, spiteful and (yes, here I even agree with Gavin Newsom) “sophomoric” proposal to send the asylum-seeking immigrants to sanctuary cities.

With the recent wildfires and natural disasters in the region, we have a shortage of construction laborers. And a recent figure put open jobs in the U.S. at 7.1 million. Let’s bring in this potential work force, employ those who have skills, train others and put them to work.

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Certainly, there will be associated issues of housing and transportation for the workers, which will be daunting. But wouldn’t our time, energy and resources be better spent here than in projects like draining the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to send water south and the bullet train to nowhere?

David Turner
Livermore

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Source:: The Mercury News – Politics

      

By Joyce Lee and Josh Smith | Reuters

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the testing of a new type of tactical guided weapon on Wednesday, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday.

It is North Korea’s first public weapons test since the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended with no agreement in February.

KCNA did not describe exactly what the weapon is, including whether it was a missile or another type of weapon, but “tactical” implies a short-range weapon, as opposed to the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States.

Nevertheless, the missile has a “peculiar mode of guiding flight” and “a powerful warhead,” KCNA said.

Kim said “the completion of the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power” of the North Korean army, according to KCNA.

Last year, Kim had also overseen a test of an unidentified “tactical weapon” in November, according to state media, which could protect North Korea like a “steel wall.”

Last year, Kim had said North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, because Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities had been “verified.”

The news of Kim’s visit to the tactical weapon testing site comes after the North Korean leader visited the North Korean Air and Anti-aircraft Force on Tuesday, according to KCNA, inspecting a flight drill and expressing “great satisfaction” at their combat readiness.

Meanwhile, satellite images from last week show movement at North Korea’s main nuclear site that could be associated with the reprocessing of radioactive material into bomb fuel, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States said on Tuesday.

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Source:: The Mercury News – Politics

      

By Neil Michael | Washington Post

DUBLIN – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s warnings about Brexit, the Irish peace pact and implications for U.S. trade with Britain have triggered some tense talks in private meetings between a congressional delegation and British conservatives seeking an exit from the European Union.

In an address to the Irish Parliament on Wednesday, Pelosi reiterated that Congress will block any U.S. trade pact if Britain’s divorce from the European Union undermines the 1998 Northern Ireland accord that ended 30 years of deadly conflict.

Pelosi, D-San Francisco, had delivered the same message to British leaders during meetings in London earlier this week.

“We must ensure that nothing happens in Brexit discussions that imperils the Good Friday accord, including, but not limited to the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland,” Pelosi said in a speech to mark the lower house’s centenary. “Let me be clear: if the Brexit deal undermines the Good Friday Accords, there will be no chance of a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement.”

Pelosi’s tough words led to a “frank exchange of views” Tuesday between the U.S. lawmakers and members of the European Research Group, the pro-Brexit members of the British Parliament, said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa.

“It’s good to have discussions between people with honestly held opinions,” Boyle told The Washington Post on Wednesday. “There might have been one or two in the ERG who were extremely passionate and there might have been a few strong disagreements. It was a good, honest exchange, but there was no yelling or screaming.”

A report in the Irish Times had characterized the encounter as “forceful and at times heated,” prompting the ERG leader, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, to suggest there were a few “snowflakes” in the meeting.

“It seemed to me courteous and amiable,” Rees-Mogg said of the session in a statement to …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Politics

      

By Philip Bump | Washington Post

On Thursday, the Department of Justice is expected to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s summary of his team’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible coordination with President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Mueller investigation, as it’s known in shorthand, has been the center of the political universe for months but, since most Americans likely only visit that universe as tourists, the extent of its overlap with broader culture is certainly more limited.

With that in mind, here’s an overview of Thursday’s release, that covers the basic whos, whats, whens and whys for a framework for understanding a complex document and a complicated situation.

1) Who’s involved

It’s important at the outset to establish the cast of characters. It’s worth skimming this section just to have a sense of who everyone is, but you should consider it more of a glossary for use in the rest of the document. People who worked directly with Trump’s campaign are highlighted.

The investigators:

–Special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller served as FBI director under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He retired in 2013. In May 2017, he was asked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to serve as special counsel to investigate possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

–Attorney General William Barr. Barr has been the head of the Department of Justice since his confirmation in February. In that role, he has authority over Mueller’s investigation.

–Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions served as Trump’s original attorney general until he was dismissed in November. In March 2017, he recused himself from involvement in investigations into the Trump campaign and possible overlap with Russia because of his work with the campaign during 2016.

–Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein was appointed by Trump and confirmed to the Justice …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Politics